Pak Se-ri
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox golfer Template:Infobox Korean name/auto Template:Family name hatnote Pak Se-ri or Se-ri Pak (Template:Langx, Template:IPA; born 28 September 1977) is a South Korean former professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour from 1998 to 2016. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.
Career
Born in Taejon, she attended Template:Ill in that city and then Template:Ill in Kongju City, Chungnam Province, where she was the school's best amateur golfer. She then moved to Seoul for training.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pak turned professional in 1996, a year before she moved to the U.S. as a 20-year-old.<ref>TalkAsia, CNN, 2007</ref> In 1996 and 1997, she won six tournaments on the LPGA of Korea Tour. Pak joined the LPGA Tour full-time for the year 1998, crowning her rookie season with victories in two majors: the McDonald's LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open. At just 20 years of age, she became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Women's Open. About.com writes that "Pak won a 20-hole playoff for that victory, making that tournament - at 92 holes in length - the longest tournament ever in women's professional golf."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Four days after the U.S. Women's Open win, Pak shot a then-LPGA record 61 during the second round of the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She won the Rolex Rookie of the Year award for that season.
Since 1998, she has gone on to win 21 more events on the Tour, including three more majors. In June 2007, at age 29, she qualified for the World Golf Hall of Fame, surpassing Karrie Webb as the youngest living entrant ever.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (Tom Morris, Jr., who died in 1875 at the age of 24, had been elected in 1975.)
Pak has also competed in a professional men's event, at the 2003 SBS Super Tournament on the Korean Tour. The Korean Tour was a feeder tour for the Asian Tour and did not offer world ranking points. She finished 10th in the event, according to the World Golf Hall of Fame "becoming the first woman to make the cut in a professional men's tournament since Babe Zaharias did so in 1945."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
At the 2005 McDonald's LPGA Championship, she missed the cut for the first time in 29 majors. In an interview quoted on the PGA Tour's website, she commented that she was searching for a balance between her golf and her personal life: "I've been a little bit unhappy about everything, my game, big game. I'm not really enjoying it at all, and I'm not doing anything with my ability. I know what I needed, a much better balance. I'm always putting a lot of pressure on myself". Eventually, she was found to have a finger injury. In 2006, she rediscovered her best form by winning the McDonald's LPGA Championship for the third time to claim her fifth major title overall.
In 2007, she won the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic for the fifth time, making her the fourth player in LPGA history to win the same tournament five or more times (Annika Sörenstam accomplished this feat at two tournaments).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Perhaps the greatest tribute to her career to date came in a column by Golf World writer Eric Adelson in 2008, who called Pak "a pioneer... who changed the face of golf even more than Tiger Woods."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When Pak came to the LPGA in 1998, she was the only South Korean player. Ten years later, she was one of 45 South Koreans on tour,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the single largest source of revenue for the LPGA was the sale of TV rights in South Korea.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Pak was the only South Korean on the LPGA Tour in the year 1998. Her spectacular triumph at the 1998 U.S. Women's Open encouraged many South Korean women to take up golf as a sport. She is regarded as a leader of the game in her home country and has also inspired the new generations of LPGA players Na Yeon Choi and Inbee Park who have followed her footsteps at the LPGA level.<ref name="Se Ri Pak">Template:Cite web</ref> A statue of her now stands outside Gongju's stadium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This statue commemorates her signature moment: a successful shot from a water hazard to remain tied for first place in the 1998 U.S. Women's Open; this allowed her to force a sudden death playoff which she then won with "a tremendous birdie putt from nearly 20 feet on the second hole."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This was a victory named by the Korea Times as the 3rd most acclaimed moment in 60 years of South Korean sports history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her shot was shown as the basis for the first episode of the South Korean TV drama Birdie Buddy.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>
On 17 March 2016, Pak announced that she would retire following the 2016 season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She retired the following 13 October, after completing the first round of South Korea's lone LPGA-sanctioned event, the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Professional wins (39)
LPGA Tour (25)
| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (5) |
| Other LPGA Tour (20) |
Template:Note labelCo-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour.
LPGA Tour playoff record (6–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1998 | U.S. Women's Open | Template:Flagicon Jenny Chuasiriporn (a) | Won with birdie on second extra hole after 18-hole playoff (Chuasiriporn:73, Pak:73) |
| 2 | 1999 | Jamie Farr Kroger Classic | Template:Flagicon Carin Koch Template:Flagicon Kelli Kuehne Template:Flagicon Mardi Lunn Template:Flagicon Sherri Steinhauer Template:Flagicon Karrie Webb |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1999 | PageNet Championship | Template:Flagicon Laura Davies Template:Flagicon Karrie Webb |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2003 | Chick-fil-A Charity Championship | Template:Flagicon Shani Waugh | Won with par on fourth extra hole |
| 5 | 2006 | McDonald's LPGA Championship | Template:Flagicon Karrie Webb | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 6 | 2010 | Bell Micro LPGA Classic | Template:Flagicon Brittany Lincicome Template:Flagicon Suzann Pettersen |
Won with birdie on third extra hole Pettersen eliminated by par on second hole |
LPGA of Korea Tour (14)
Major championships
Wins (5)
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| Year | Championship | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | McDonald's LPGA Championship | 65-68-72-68=273 | −11 | 3 strokes | Template:Flagicon Donna Andrews, Template:Flagicon Lisa Hackney |
| 1998 | U.S. Women's Open | 69-70-75-76=290 | +6 | Playoff 1 | Template:Flagicon Jenny Chuasiriporn (a) |
| 2001 | Women's British Open | 71-70-70-66=277 | −11 | 2 strokes | Template:Flagicon Mi Hyun Kim |
| 2002 | McDonald's LPGA Championship | 71-70-68-70=279 | −5 | 3 strokes | Template:Flagicon Beth Daniel |
| 2006 | McDonald's LPGA Championship | 71-69-71-69=280 | −8 | Playoff 2 | Template:Flagicon Karrie Webb |
1 Defeated Chuasiriporn on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff, after an 18-hole playoff round
2 Defeated Webb on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff
Results timeline
Results not in chronological order before 2015.
| Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANA Inspiration | T13 | T15 | ||
| Women's PGA Championship | 1 | T6 | T3 | |
| U.S. Women's Open | T21 | 1 | T14 | T15 |
| du Maurier Classic | T41 | T13 | T7 |
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANA Inspiration | T11 | T9 | T15 | T16 | T27 | T45 | T10 | T10 | T40 |
| Women's PGA Championship | T39 | 1 | T46 | T17 | CUT | 1 | T33 | T46 | T65 |
| U.S. Women's Open | 2 | 5 | 50 | T32 | T45 | T3 | T4 | CUT | CUT |
| Women's British Open ^ | 1 | T11 | 2 | T21 | WD | WD | T5 | CUT | T20 |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANA Inspiration | T15 | T10 | T8 | T19 | T4 | CUT | |
| Women's PGA Championship | CUT | T34 | T19 | T28 | WD | WD | |
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT | T45 | T9 | CUT | T38 | CUT | |
| Women's British Open | T14 | T47 | WD | ||||
| The Evian Championship ^^ | T4 | T47 | |||||
^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001
^^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013
Template:Legend
Template:Legend
Template:Legend
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied for place
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANA Inspiration | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 17 | 16 |
| Women's PGA Championship | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 14 |
| U.S. Women's Open | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 14 |
| Women's British Open | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 8 |
| The Evian Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| du Maurier Classic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Totals | 5 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 22 | 39 | 71 | 57 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 29 (1997 U.S. Open – 2005 Kraft Nabisco)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 5 (2001 U.S. Open – 2002 U.S. Open)
LPGA Tour career summary
| Year | Tournaments played |
Cuts made |
Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top 10s | Best finish |
Earnings ($) |
Money list rank |
Scoring average |
Scoring rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 27 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 872,170 | 2 | 71.41 | 13 |
| 1999 | 27 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 956,926 | 3 | 70.77 | 8 |
| 2000 | 23 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 550,376 | 12 | 72.49 | 10 |
| 2001 | 21 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 1,623,009 | 2 | 69.69 | 2 |
| 2002 | 24 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 1,722,281 | 2 | 69.85 | 2 |
| 2003 | 26 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 1,611,928 | 2 | 70.03 | 1 |
| 2004 | 19 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 682,669 | 11 | 71.34 | 27 |
| 2005 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T27 | 62,628 | 102 | 74.21 | 116 |
| 2006 | 23 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 884,961 | 13 | 71.65 | 23 |
| 2007 | 23 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 820,129 | 16 | 71.74 | 14 |
| 2008 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 366,143 | 52 | 72.59 | 66 |
| 2009 | 24 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 447,683 | 30 | 71.98 | 37 |
| 2010 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 368,839 | 32 | 72.45 | 49 |
| 2011 | 20 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 415,447 | 27 | 71.97 | 26 |
| 2012 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 430,338 | 33 | 71.18 | 16 |
| 2013 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | T4 | 440,162 | 34 | 71.88 | 41 |
| 2014 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | T4 | 271,888 | 59 | 71.75 | 45 |
| 2015 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T10 | 36,083 | 122 | 74.25 | n/a |
| 2016 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T27 | 20,053 | 150 | 69.54 | 95 |
- official through 2016 season<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
World ranking
Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.
| Year | World ranking |
Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 12 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2007 | 10 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2008 | 31 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2009 | 43 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2010 | 32 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2011 | 36 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2012 | 26 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2013 | 30 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2014 | 59 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2015 | 228 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2016 | 469 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Team appearances
Amateur
- Espirito Santo Trophy (representing South Korea): 1994
Professional
Filmography
Television shows
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–2018 | Law of the Jungle in Cook Islands | Cast member | Episode 293–298 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| 2018 | Soo Mi's Side Dishes | Regular member | Episode 93–99; Guest (Episode 32) | |
| 2020–2022 | Sporty Sisters | Regular member | Season 1–2 | |
| 2020 | Law of the Jungle in Wild Korea | Cast member | Episode 416–419 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Law of the Jungle – Zero Point | Episode 423–426 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| 2021 | Match of the Century: AI vs. Human | Regular member | ||
| Wild Wild Quiz | Cast member | Episode 1–12 | ||
| Three Park: The Second Heart | Main host | |||
| Ceremony Club | Main cast | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| 2022 | Operation Time | Host | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Tomorrow is a Hero-Kanbu | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| IT Live from Today | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| Sports Golden Bell | contestant | Chuseok Special | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2023 | The Queen | Host | with Leeteuk and Jang Sung-kyu<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| 2023–present | Dogs Are Incredible | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Web shows
| Year | Title | Role | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–present | Cerizabeth | Host | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
Awards and nominations
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand of the Year Awards | 2022 | Spotiner | Pak Se-ri | Template:Won | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Brand Customer Loyalty Award | Spoiler division | Template:Won | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
See also
- List of female golfers
- List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
- List of golfers with most LPGA major championship wins
References
External links
Template:LPGA Champions Template:U.S. Women's Open Champions Template:Women's British Open Champions
- Pages with broken file links
- South Korean female golfers
- LPGA Tour golfers
- LPGA of Korea Tour golfers
- Winners of LPGA major golf championships
- World Golf Hall of Fame inductees
- Golf commentators
- South Korean expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Sportspeople from Daejeon
- South Korean Buddhists
- 1977 births
- Living people